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User blog:Friendlysociopath/Cloud Strife VS Squall Leonhart
Since it's a battle that has been waged across the internet, I thought I'd give it a shot. But, since it's a "same series" fight, it probably isn't the best use for a Deathbattle- so I'll just be making a blog with a similar format instead. Everybody wins. Cloud Strife VS Squall Leonhart Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII Squall Leonhart from Final Fantasy VIII These two heroes will go head-to-head to find out, once and for all, who the superior FF hero is. *No usable items, other than that- no holds barred. *In other words; all spells and summons are on the table. *Dissidia and Kingdom Hearts will not be used for feats, although moves from both will be considered. Images dissidia___cloud_vs_squall_by_hocbo-d6ccqsr.jpg cloud_vs_squall_by_lone_lanrete.jpg f686abba548b52d892c3660e69b2f3e8.jpg Interlude So, the basic question- "Why?" Why do a battle between people from the same series? Why pit characters like that against one another? Basic answer for a basic question- "Because it's fun!" This is a battle that has gone through the minds of many a fan of Final Fantasy; I'd like to present what I believe is a more unique view that I haven't seen much of, which I'll get to in a bit. Cloud and Squall are both some of the greatest FF heroes to date and both are frequently portrayed alongside one another by Square Enix. Kingdom Hearts Cloud is a lone soldier, struggling with his darkness and solitude. Squall is set as a stark contrast, being part of a group that works together to overcome their problems. Yet when problems occur, both are ready and willing to stand back-to-back to fight off the Heartless army in Kingom Hearts 2. Both trade a small badass joke and then they set off, arguably one of the most epic moments in all of Kingdom Hearts history is these two are stuck together in a sea of enemies and throw down right alongside one another. Cloud eventually sticks to his lone wolf persona, going off on his own to fight Sephiroth while Squall continues working and helping his team. Too bad Squall couldn't get a chance to fight Sephiroth though... Dissidia Well, look at that- the very opening of the game and Squall is up there trading blows with Sephiroth. (Not doing too shabby either.) Now true, this means nothing as everyone is capable of taking on everyone in Dissidia, but out of the entire given cast they threw Squall at Sephiroth. I'm not using this for feats or powerscaling or anything else, this is just sort of a history lesson for what Cloud and Squall share together. Who They Are But before we talk about their combat skills, let's delve into who they are- their past- their history- the qualities and stories that make up the characters. Cloud Strife Cloud is a SOLDIER, a genetically modified fighter created by Shinra using Mako energy to increase the strength, speed, and durability of their troops. Cloud however is a step above normal SOLDIERs as not only does he have Mako energy within him, he has been given Jenova cells too. After seeing his home burned down and being nearly slain himself, these experiments pushed Cloud's mind over the edge. His mentor, Zack, attempted to transport Cloud with him to Midgar, but was killed en route by the Shinra army. Zack then gave Cloud his signature weapon, alongside some of his memories and abilities via the Jenova cells the two shared. Cloud was discovered in this condition by his childhood friend, Tifa, and joined a group of Eco-Terrorists that were taking on Shinra. And thus the journey began, for soon Cloud discovered Sephiroth apparently still lived and set off in pursuit immediately. While traveling the world, Cloud came across the Black Materia- an object of immense power. Eventually Cloud came face-to-face with Sephiroth, who used the Jenova cells to control Cloud and take the Black Materia for himsef. Cloud fell into the lifestream and was put into a near-comatose state, though he later recovered from this poison, regaining his memories at the same time. Cloud led a defiant charge against Sephiroth, finally defeating him in the Northern Crater. Years later, a plague began to spread amongst the denizens of Cloud's world. Cloud himself was greatly afflicted, the mighty warrior was weakened to the point where he had trouble standing and could barely hold onto his weapons. Worse yet, a new group of miniature Sephiroths had popped up and were causing havoc. Cloud battled his despair and eventually surpassed it, deciding to retake control of his life. After a series of battles Cloud emerged triumphant, joining the World Regenisis Organization alongside his friends to help improve the state of the world they lived in. Squall Leonhart Squall is a SEED, a mercenary that draws power from Guardian Forces- powerful creatures sealed within the part of the brain that controls memory. Squall actually grew up alongside most of his party members, but they had all lost the memories due to the influence of the GFs. Squall was eventually taken into Balamb Garden and began training as a mercenary, learning how to fight and do various jobs to earn money for the school. Eventually Squall meets Rinoa, a young sorceress that has drawn the eye of a great evil. Squall fights in her name against a mighty enemy empire, although a slip of the tongue reveals his allegiance and a harsh reprisal is planned to destroy the Garden. As the story progresses Squall ends up having to take command of an entire army in order to save the Garden, eventually taking on his former adoptive mother, Edea. Squall then learns the purpose of SEEDs is not to be simple mercenaries for hire- but to stand againt Ultimecia- a time-manipulating Sorceress who wished to compress all of time and space in order to become a god. Squall and his friends fought Ultimecia and won, but Squall fell into a sort of void for some time, eventually recovering and being found by Rinoa. It is unknown exactly how much this ordeal may have harmed Squall, if it did at all. What They Do The Same As a rule, Final Fantasy protagonists tend to comprise 2/3s of the RPG trinity. Not only are they powerful physical fighters, many bring magic alongside this to assist them in battle. Cloud and Squall are no exceptions to this rule, both being required to wield their unique magic systems in order to defeat mighty foes. Cloud uses materia, which has notably changed in function almost every other time it has been seen. The basics however are the same, a magical stone has the sealed powers within it- using the stone allows you access to the power inside. How this is achieved has been altered several times in canon: from requiring specific slots in the weapons and armor- to absorbing them directly into your body- from simply holding in your hand- and even keychains attached on the weapons. Squall uses GFs to obtain his powers, enabling him to perform a similar function; though with less variety. After sealing the monsters within himself, Squall can 'Junction' magic. This allows him to use the spells he can cast for both offense and defense, enabling him to increase his powers just like Cloud and his materia. Both of them use unwiedly weapons in combat- Cloud of course uses the Buster Sword and later the Fusion Sword- massive blades that require an inhuman amount of strength to use properly as two soldiers were unable to budge them more than a bit. Cloud however has shown no difficulty, even lifting and fighting efficiently with only one arm at times. Squall's weapon is impractical in another fashion. The Gunblade does not rely on inhuman strength (though it is required in order to not break your wrist) but rather, inhuman speed and reactions. The purpose of the weapon is not to fire as a true gun, although it reportedly can, but to vibrate just as you strike the enemy with it. The two are quite similar, which is not surprising as they came from games that were released within a single generation of one another. What They Do Differently But where the systems change is an interesting point. Limit Breaks: Cloud's limit breaks are notably different from those shown by Tifa, instead of simply using an attack he will visibly glow and channel his energy into his weapon- increasing his speed and power to new levels. He can also channel that energy through his weapon, creating shockwaves, meteors and a death-dealing wind. As of Advent Children he has learned a new trick and can separate his sword into separate parts and attack with all of them. Squall's limit breaks are similar to Cloud's in that they appear to increase his strength and speed to higher levels. However, many of them specialize in increasing the length of his weapon, giving him a potent method of expanding his reach. As of Dissidia, several of them are also quite potent for reversing and canceling out magical attacks. However, few of Squall's attacks do anything besides simply attack with his weapon. Magic systems: Cloud's materia are strong on their own, but the real power- as explained by Cloud himself- comes from how you combine them. This can lead to powerful combinations where the materia can enhance and empower the user without even active effort on their part. Squall however has the unique power to 'Draw' magic from his opponents, enabling him to take spells, abilities, and even sealed creatures from his foes and absorbing them. Squall can then use the stolen magic (dubbed "para-magic" to distinguish it from witch magic) himself, either to Junction to protect himself from the magics or he can turn the spells on the user. All of That Said Who would actually win in a fight? Well we're going to look at a few physical characteristics for both characters first. Cloud Strife In terms of Strength Cloud is very high on the Final Fantasy roster, capable of carving through steel and concrete with little trouble. As with most FF heroes, he has fought and destroyed massive creatures, demonstrated best by him nearly solo-ing Bahamut SIN while in a weakened state. He's no stranger to superhumans either, routinely taking on enhanced humans like SOLDIER and DEEPGROUND and coming out on top. His Strength can be summarized as Building-Level for those who require levels. In terms of Speed Cloud matches most of the Final Fantasy roster, as he's capable of dodging lightning bolts flying at him. However, he also has a feat of being able to move faster than bullets themselves, giving him a marked advantage in speed when in combat. In terms of Durability Cloud is one of the highest ranking for Final Fantasy heroes, being able to survive and fight despite taking tremendous amounts of punishment like being stabbed, shot, and thrown through buildings. Squall Leonhart Now Squall is an odd case as, like most FF heroes, his feats are entirely in-game (In other words, bound by game mechanics for the large part); but the odd thing is he has been given unique animations for fighting bosses- meaning out of most of the FF cast, Squall legitimately can be scaled to most of the bosses he fights. For Strength that would mean Squall is capable of overpowering things like the Brothers Guardian Force; the Brothers even state Squall is too strong for them to defeat, a hefty statement considering they can hurl multiple tons of battlefield up into the air. In terms of Speed Squall falls short, although undoubtably a bullet-timer due to the nature of his game, beyond that his feats are questionable; although via his Renzokuken he has demonstrated the agility to at least match Cloud's own. Squall did manage to survive being impaled by a shard of ice, as well as extreme shock-torture, but it is uncertain how much of that was under his own power. So it would seem Cloud holds the advantage in Speed, but Squall holds the advantage in Strength, and both possess similar Durability feats. On to the fight then! FIGHT Now unfortunately, as this is not a real Deathbattle, I'm not going to be writing it like it is. Instead I'll just be comparing advantages and disadvantages of both of these two to determine a winner. Should I manage to get my hands on the new Dissidia anytime soon I will glady settle this there and post the video here. 'So, who would win in a battle?' I would have to say, all things considered, Squall would be the likely victor in this match. The two are physically around the same area, despite Cloud being faster and Squall being stronger, the two are too similar to pick a winner based purely on this alone. So we turn to their unique magic systems for the answer. And in that, Squall reigns supreme for one simple reason- the Draw and Junction system. This power means anything Cloud can do, so can Squall. In fact, over the course of the fight, Squall would be able to: *Use any spell Cloud could use. *Become immune to any spell Cloud could use. *Take any summons Cloud would have. Meaning that while the two are nearly equal in physical areas, where magic is concerned Squall can take anything Cloud can dish out and return it with no issues. Actually, Squall would simply become stronger the longer the battle goes on so long as he used his Draw powers correctly. In short, when Draw and Junction are concerned, Squall is one of the ultimate anti-mage characters. But let's be sure to grab all of the options- how about the two evading death? Cloud can set himself up to revive himself when harmed too much, assuming he went with even two such combinations would only give him 10 or so reboots. Squall has access to similar magic that will pick him up when injured, but he also can substitute a GF to take the deathblow in his place, giving him 16 retries if he messes up. Category:Blog posts